Star fish and urchin

Question
I have a small tank and have loved haveing my chocolet chip star fish.. I went into a pet store and desided to get a pricky urchin.. The man at the store said that my star fish would not bother the urchin becouse of the spikes.. But I got up this morning and it looks like my star fish is stuck on the urchin and can not get off.. Will he beable to get off do I do something to help him will my starfish dies .. :o( I hope you can help.. Thank you Val

Answer
Hi Valerie,

Your sea star should be fine, however your urchin probably won't fare so well. In nature, sea stars will cover and secrete digestive enzymes for consumption of various invertebrate, as part of their natural diet, including sea urchins.

If you can, gently pry them apart, this may help to save your urchin's life. Alternately, you may let the sea star consume the urchin as part of its natural diet. In this manner, the urchin would have existed to fulfill a purpose.

I wish you luck with all your future saltwater aquarium endeavors.

Sincerely,
David

All Experts Editor

Director Orange County Reef Aquatics - http://www.ocreef.com